Temerity
by Kayka
Summary: Sarah should have ignored the worm and kept left. Though if she had, she would never have been so determined to win in the first place. Written for Day 24 of the Labyrinth 30 Day Challenge on Tumblr. "Deleted" scene/short one-shot. Sareth if you squint and maybe tilt your head, possibly while doing a handstand.


**Disclaimer: **It's not mine. We've been over this. But maybe if I- nope. Not even then. ◡_◡

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**Temerity**

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The stone corridor she turned down was darker, _much_ darker, than the never-ending path from which she had just come.

_I should've gone left. That's the last time I take advice from a worm._

As though she passed through an unseen veil, the sky turned to night. Sarah thought to turn around, but her way was blocked. The only option was forward into the inky unknown.

"Not everything is like it seems in this place."

If her path was dark and scary, that probably meant it was the safest course. She just didn't know why it had to be so damned_ cold_ all of a sudden.

A crystal moon illuminated the sky, and for a moment, Sarah was caught by its translucent splendor.

_Snap._

"Who's there?" Her voice didn't crack in fear, which she thought was an accomplishment. Alone, in the dark, Sarah felt very much afraid.

It was then she spotted them; the pairs of eyes glinting in the light of the strange moon.

Sarah backed away from the warning, humming growls, but they were everywhere. Surrounding her. She ran then- felt the phantom breath of her pursuers, dodged their claws and flashing teeth. They were playing with her, she realized, but they wouldn't for much longer. Just as she glimpsed them entering a deadly formation, she broke free of the dark path and its dark promise, stumbling headfirst into the mercurial twilight she had known before she'd turned down that path.

Only to find herself at another dead end.

"It's not fair!" Sarah raged, close to tears and kicking at a chunk of shining loose cobblestone.

"It's not yet too late to turn back, you know."

The girl faltered and just managed to_ not _scream in shock. She gathered her wits before facing the owner of the voice. She had to stand her ground against him; she couldn't afford to fall apart now.

"I can't go _back_!" She gesticulated, "Those _things_ wanted to eat me!"

"Oh how you willfully misunderstand." The king paused in his assessment of her, and Sarah did her very best not to fidget under his unwavering gaze. "Or do you, Sarah? Perhaps my estimation of your understanding is far too high."

The glowing crystal appeared with a flourish, before she could voice her affront at his insinuation.

"Your dreams," Jareth offered, as though he had not just insulted her.

"I already told you that I couldn't," she grumbled, trying to not be caught by the magic and failing miserably.

"Ah, I no longer offer you mere trinkets to pass the time." The sphere danced across his hands dizzyingly. Tempting. Mesmerizing. "_These_ are your dreams _manifest_."

"At what cost?" She already knew the answer to that, but her words came of their own volition.

"A trifle already given, you need only accept my gift. Accept your dreams and you will have them," the Goblin King cajoled, "_All _of them."

"I-," for an instant Sarah wavered, all she had to do was reach out- _take them_- and her dreams would be hers. Everything she ever wanted. No more awful school, no more stepmother dictating her life, no more crying, squalling Toby.

_Toby_.

She couldn't do that to him. She loved him. Perhaps she did not always like him, but even so, she couldn't condemn him to become a goblin due to her selfishness. That's not what the heroine _did_. The princess saved the princeling, and she fought for her dreams on her own terms. They weren't _given_ to her; she _earned_ them.

"I can't. I wish-" But wishing was what got her into this mess in the first place, now wasn't it?

_No more of those today_.

"I mean- if only... I'm sorry," She wasn't sure why she was apologizing, but it felt appropriate, "but I can't. I have to get my brother back."

"So be it." He shrugged elegantly, as if her rejection was of no import- it was still early in the game, and there were still so many ways in which she could run astray.

_He doesn't think I can do it. But I can, and I will._

The crystal spun at a reckless pace now, and then it was flying toward her. Sarah yelped and jumped to the side; she knew with certainty that the orb mustn't touch her. It would be a forfeit- accepting her dreams by proxy. She spun back to confront the empty, shimmering air.

Sarah huffed at the King's disappearing act.

_Now what?_

But her stone path was different- both ways were clear. No dead ends. No dark shadows. Had the Goblin King helped her? Or had he tried to frighten her with the dark creatures to try to make her give up? Did it matter?

_Next time,_ Sarah resolved.

Next time she wouldn't be afraid of the dark, no matter what.

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**A/N:** Day 24's challenge was to add a scene to the story. I thought that Sarah's 'Cat's' poster really didn't get a reference in the film proper, and then this popped out when I was waiting on (and then riding) the bus this morning. It practically wrote itself. I just wish all my stories did that.


End file.
